Origins
by TitaHightopp05
Summary: "Tarrant, I want to know something about your family". Before ATtLG in which Tarrant tells Alice about his family and ends up miserable, just to be relieved by the gratest joy of his life. My OCs are only mentioned. R&R&E!


_**Origins**_

"Alice in Wonderland" FanFiction

 **Ranting** K+ **Language** English **Genre** Romance, Hurt-Comfort, Family **Chapters** 1 – Oneshot

 **Words** 1.394 **Characters** [Mad Hatter/Tarrant Hightopp, Alice Kingsleigh]

Tarrant knew all about Alice's family: her dead and living parents, her sister, her sister's cheating husband, her spinster aunt, even about a certain failed proposal. Contrariwise, Alice knew quite nothing about Tarrant's. And now, that a special discover was going to shock their life as a couple, she was beginning to need those information.

She knew that it was a painful topic to talk about, but in her opinion, their marriage couldn't go on with that last gap between them.

One evening, after dinner, while Alice was cleaning the table and Tarrant was packing some hats to bring at the castle, she decided that that was the perfect moment to ask him.

"Hatter?" she called, sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace.

He turned and smiled to her, before sitting next to her. He stroked her cheek: "You look better than this morning, sweetling, am I right?"

She moaned softly, learning into his touch and answered: "Yes, thank you…".

"What is it, Alice?" the Hatter asked concerned.

"I was thinking about something, Tarrant. But it will probably hurt you: would you mind if I ask anyway?"

"Alice, dear, of course not! But if you are so sure that I would mind it…" he took her hands and placed them on his cheeks.

Alice giggled a little and pulled him close to kiss his forehead, then she got serious and took a deep breath: "Tarrant, I want to know something about your family"

His face turned sad as he stared at her at first, but his gaze lowered slowly and his eyes faded into a yellowish orange.

She lowered too, to keep the eye contact and pressed on his cheeks: "Tarrant, stay with me, please… Hatter!"

He gasped and shook his head a bit: "I'm fine… Sorry, Alice, I was ju-" he added voiceless, to be stopped by Alice's finger on his mouth.

"Sshh, nothing to be sorry about, just take your time, yes? We have all life in front of us!" she whispered back.

"Thank you, my dear…" he then learned forward to capture her lips in his own in a quick but passionate kiss.

"You are tired Hatter: shall we continue to talk in our bedroom?" she asked.

He sighed deeply: "Why not?" he said as he stood and scooped her up.

Minutes later, Alice was in bed, reading a book while waiting for Tarrant. When he arrived, he sat on the edge of his side of the bed and stared at something not specified.

Alice noticed, closed her book and reached him. She put her hands on his shoulders as he started to speak: "We were 6 in total: my parents, my 3 sisters and me. My mum, Tyva, was a seamstress at the Queen's Court. She had my same hair color, bright blue eyes and hundreds of little freckles on nose and cheekbones. My dad, Zanik, was a hatter. He was really good at creating hats, he's the one I learned from…" he stopped, Alice squeezed his shoulders: "Go on, please…" she asked quietly.

He took a breath and continued: "He… he had pale orange hair and green eyes, he also used to have a beard and mustaches" he stopped for a little while.

Alice listened silently, still keeping her grip tight: "What about your sisters, Tarrant?" she asked.

"M… My s-sisters…" he stuttered "They… they were… so young, Alice…" he could feel his eyes change from yellowish green to flame orange, then Alice hugged him from behind and that calmed him.

"Tean and me were not the eldest among their children: 3 years before us had come our brother Ernan, the perfect one, my Fa's favorite. 5 years after us came Caileen, she was without doubt my dad's daughter: same hair, eyes, features and character, but she had freckles as mum. 10 years later Jeanette was surprisingly born: she looked a lot like mum and though her arrival was not expected, she was the sweetest surprise we have ever received. They both wanted to be seamstresses like her".

He was beginning to breath heavily, Alice was still embracing him: "I have one last question, darling: may I?". After he had nodded slightly she asked: "Who's the old man in that picture in Tean's glass cabinet who holds you both on his knees?"

He caressed her arms: one around his waist, one around his shoulders. Then he placed his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes: "Alice…"

"You don't have to tell me now, if you don't want we can-"

"My dad's father…" he interrupted her "…my grandfather McAllen: he had been the Royal Hatter before him…that's all, my Alice" he concluded gazing her. His eyes were back to their normal green, but they were shining with tears.

"Please excuse me…" Tarrant added, as he rose from the bed. He opened the window and walked on the balcony, breaking down.

Slowly Alice approached at her sobbing Hatter, passed a hand on his back and pulled him into a loving embrace: "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you through all this, forgive me"

"Ah was the Knave's objective, Alice! All mye fam'ly pay'd but meh! It's all mye fault, Alice…"

She brushed away from his cheeks his constantly falling tears with her thumb: "No, Tarrant, it's not. And you know that better than me. You survived because you are a hero and you saved the White Queen: they would be proud of you, my Hatter. I'm proud of you, Tarrant"

He leaned down and kissed her passionately. She let him scoop her up for the second time that evening and laid her on the bed. Without releasing her lips, he knelt above her.

When they parted, Alice took a deep breath: "Hatter?"

"Yes, sweetling?" he answered busy in fiddling the upper buttons of her night gown.

She sighed with desire thinking about what he was probably going to do, but she had to stop him somehow: she brushed his hands away and closed her almost fully opened piece of clothing. As she expected, he groaned and looked into her eyes with great disappoint, but she continued: "I discovered a wonderful thing today…"

The Hatter's eyes sparkled with curiosity, as he titled his head slightly on one side and his eyebrows knotted.

Alice giggled, pulled his head forward and whispered in his ear: "I'm expecting…"

"Good to know: I'm here to satisfy your expectations, you know, just let me finish here" he said a little frustrated pulling her hands away from her chest.

"Silly Hatter!" Alice laughed at his ingenuity and cupped his cheeks again "Tarrant, we are having a baby!"

He froze and his eyes seemed to be stuck with hers: "Re-really?"

Her smile grew wider as she nodded in response.

Tarrant giggled quietly, joined shortly after by Alice: "Are you sure?" he asked, suddenly turning serious.

"Could I ever lie to you? About family?" she assured him. She didn't know which reaction expect from him: if not a faint, maybe a joy explosion, but surely not the tight hug he gave her the very second later!

"Oh Alice!" he exclaimed.

"Your Alice…" she corrected laughing.

"My Alice… my Alice is pregnant… a family again!" he continued to mutter while slowly scooting downwards to kiss repeatedly her belly. Tarrant placed his hear there then, he didn't pay attention when Alice told him that he couldn't hear their baby just yet, he relaxed at her caresses through his ginger curls.

"Tarrant, could you please shut the window, it's getting cold" she asked, a few minutes later.

He quickly got up and closed the French door, drew the curtains and turned to Alice, who was now curling up under the blankets. He had to smile: he had never seen a cuter thing that his wife with a so funny stressed expression, fighting with the blanket and the sheets.

"Here, let me help you…" he chuckled and set the sheets right. Then he laid too, next to her: "What an exciting day was today!" he sighed turning to her.

"Mmh, very..." she responded, while closing her eyes and placing her head on his shoulder. Alice pulled him into a sweet embrace and kissed him: "I love you, Tarrant Hightopp. Pleasant dreams"

He returned the hug: "Same, sweethearts. Good night"

He passed a hand on her back and on her belly until he was sure she was asleep, then he kissed the top of her head and joined her in the sleep, dreaming about his late family members meeting Alice and their child. TitaHightopp05


End file.
